As a manager, are you certain that you are better than your people?

Now back to the manager, or maybe even to you as a manager, and how much trust you really have in your people. Are you surrounded by a group who know exactly what they need to do and how to approach it? In many organisations, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. The team can self-organise, and once their goal is clear, it is up to them. The manager is mainly “coach” and there to enable the team. 

Managing during a crisis

All well and good; until things get complicated. For example when it looks like targets won’t be met, or maybe important stakeholders, such as clients, regulators or management teams become dissatisfied. These are the times when most managers can’t resist stepping in to snatch up the reins. They start delegating tasks: “what has to be done? by whom? when? and how?”. They insist on being asked for permission to take any subsequent steps. Why? It all comes down to the fact that they don’t trust that others can do things better than themselves.

Thankfully there are companies where this trust does exist. A good example of which was seen over the last few years on the football pitch of the Dutch national team, under the management of Ronald Koeman. In order to win their group in the Nations League, The Netherlands needed to draw against Germany. At the end of the first half it was 2-0 to Germany, who were playing well. The Netherlands, on the other hand, weren’t really getting anywhere. The second half continued in the same way; Germany attacked, The Netherlands faltered. Important stakeholders (fans, commentator) express their concern. Maybe even the team and management do too, because it looks like their target won’t be met.

For a moment, let’s just imagine..
Koeman is the type of manager we described above. When things aren’t going to plan, he feels the need to take the reigns. He says to his players ‘from now on I will tell you exactly what to do, who is going to do it and when and how it will be done.’ As a result, the team’s attacker, Memphis, has to consult Koeman and ask permission for his next move each time he gets the ball. Before he can take any action, defender, Virgil van Dijk has to ask “do I pass this ball, send it wide or return it to the keeper?.” 

You can imagine how much disruption this would cause to the game. It’s pretty obvious that The Netherlands won’t get very far under this managerial style. In fact, it even gives Germany an opportunity: They take advantage of the delays, continue to steal the ball, and set up attack after attack. The Netherlands goal is definitely being found, by Germany. Whereas their actual goal is getting further and further out of their reach.

Back to reality
That is not what happened at all! Because Koeman possesses an important characteristic, which is indispensable in these make or break situations: He is able to wholeheartedly trust in his team. He knows one thing for sure; every player on the field can play better football than he can.